by Tina Martin
Stunned, she threw a hand over her heart and steadied herself. “You scared the living crap out of me!”
“Why are you looking all around like a venomous snake is in your office and you’re seeking a way out?”
“Because I am looking for a way out!”
“No need. I do have a snake be he’s tucked away right now.”
“What are you doing here, Regal?”
“I told you I would be here. Don’t act so surprised to see me, woman.”
“I am surprised. You always threaten to come by here but you never showed your face. I thought you were being silly like you always are.”
He had a smirk on his face when he said, “Well, you thought wrong. Here I am in the flesh, Dub-B, and contrary to what you think, I’m not always silly.”
Felicity rolled her eyes. “Look, Regal—I don’t have time for your antics today. I have a ton of work to do, my receptionist isn’t here and I don’t need you up in here bothering me.”
“I’m not bothering you. I’m just standing here. Observing.” He slid his hands in his pockets and glanced around her office.
“Observing is bothering. Go somewhere else and observe somebody who would be flattered with the attention. I’m not in the least.”
“Nah, you’re it. Ay, by the way, what’s up with your hair? You look like you drove all the way here with your head hanging out the window.”
Felicity opened the desk drawer, took out a mirror and saw her hair was wild and crazy. She dug around in her purse for a brush and fixed it while he looked on.
“Ah, much better,” Regal said.
Ignoring him in hopes that he’d go away, Felicity got right back to business – fumbling around with folders and papers. She had an appointment with a new client – Lucas Porter – and she wanted to make sure she was familiar with his intake questionnaire and the kind of woman who would be compatible with him.
Regal interrupted her concentration when he asked, “Did you read through my questionnaire?”
“No,” she said without bothering to look up.
“You had all weekend to get through it.”
And who are you? My dad? “I don’t work on weekends.”
“Okay. I see how you want to play this,” he said, stepping into her office, sitting in one of the chairs facing her desk. “Why do you have chairs in front of your desk? Makes it seem like you’re the principal and your clients are students. Things need to be a lil’ more lax around here.”
“Make things lax in your office. This is my office. Shoo. Go away.”
He laughed. “Wow. Are you this rude to all of your clients?”
“How many times do I have to say it? You’re not my client, Regal. And you have some nerve to call me rude when you put your freakin’ mouth on me.”
“You mean the kiss?” He grinned. “That was just to calm you down. Plus, by the way you had your lips poked out at me, you were practically begging me to do it.”
“You’re not my client. Leave.”
Regal crossed his legs. “I can do this all day, girl. Can you?”
She dropped a pen on her desk and rolled her eyes. “Look, if my refusal to accept you as a client has somehow damaged your enormous size ego, just know that it’s not just you I’m turning down. I’m not taking any new clients at the moment because I’m completely stretched thin with the ones I already have.”
“I’m sure you can fit me into your busy schedule. I’m not leaving until you do.”
“That’s like you refusing to do a design for someone and they come to your office and bug you every day until you change your mind. Can’t you see how annoying and petty that would be?”
“Yeah. I can see that, but I would at least admire them for their persistence. That’s a quality a lot of people don’t possess. Persistence. People give up too easily nowadays. I like the struggle, and honestly, I feel like you’re only turning me down as a client because you don’t like me, which I won’t accept.”
Felicity found it a struggle to keep her composure with the handsome man sitting across from her. She glanced up at him. His lips. Then his eyes.
Lips.
Eyes.
She forced herself not to think about the kiss he’d stolen from her even though it had dominated her thoughts all weekend long. And now, here he was.
Struggling to maintain eye contact with him, she replied, “I never said I didn’t like you.”
“Yes, you did. You look at me like I’m a virus you don’t want to catch.”
“Then let me clear things up. I said you were annoying, and I don’t look at you like you’re a virus. As a matter of fact, I think you’re a good person, but in my professional opinion, Regal, you’re not ready for marriage or anything closely related to it. If you were, you wouldn’t go around kissing women who pout their lips at you.”
“I only did that to you.”
“Okay, then if you were serious about marriage, you wouldn’t have done that to me, a woman you hardly know. Why are you thinking about marriage so heavily, anyway? Peer pressure? Is it because of your brothers?”
His brother Ramsey was the first St. Claire siblings to marry. He’d married Gianna. Royal came next, marrying Gianna’s sister, Gemma. Romulus married his best friend, Siderra.
Regal leaned back in his chair. The fact that his brothers were married did sway his mind somewhat towards nuptials. His brothers were happy, in love, starting new, exciting chapters in their lives. Ramsey and Gianna had a sweet, one-year-old daughter named Rianne. Romulus and Siderra would be welcoming a baby boy in three months. So, yes, his brother’s lives had a positive effect on him where marriage and family were concerned.
But so did she.
Felicity Sweet-Lips James.
The woman he desired.
In all of his thirty-six years of living, he’d never crossed paths with a woman like her. She was driven. Smart. Fiesty. Outgoing. Magnificently beautiful. Even as she sat behind her desk with a frown of confusion on her face, she was beautiful with her bronzed cheeks. The color on her lips matched.
Felicity sipped coffee while holding his gaze. Had he not heard her question? He was just sitting there. Staring, filling her office with his larger-than-life presence and the scent of his intoxicating cologne.
Deciding to dial back her irritation and be a bit more cordial – and it took more energy than she had expected to do that – she asked, “Would you like some coffee or something? Water?”
He smiled, feeling like he just had a small victory in this battle. The war, however, was a different story. “Water will be fine.”
She stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Felicity stepped out into the hallway and inhaled a series of deep breaths.
Keep your head on straight, Felicity. Don’t let him get to you. Why do you let him get to you so much, anyway? It’s only Regal.
Only Regal. Yeah, right…
There was something powerful about Regal St. Claire that sent heat waves like small circuits throughout her body. She didn’t know which feeling was worse – pretending she wasn’t attracted to him or actually dealing with being attracted to him. Whatever the case, he was a distraction she didn’t need. Since her ex broke her heart and left her, she hadn’t had this kind of connection to a man. Didn’t want one. She thought her broken heart would stay broken while she hid behind sad love songs and other people’s happiness. It wasn’t supposed to spring forth new life again. So why was she having some heart-stopping connection with Regal? Was he just that fine, or was his carefree, playful personality starting to tear down her defensive walls? Probably a little bit of both.
She took a bottle of Dasani from the refrigerator in the small kitchen area of the office suite then heading back toward her office, she blew an even breath before walking in and said, “Here you go,” handing Regal the bottle.
“Thanks,” he said taking the bottle in a way that his hand would be sure to touch hers.
She felt the connection and s
ubsequent current that jolted the nerves of her fingers like a nervous twitch. She didn’t know if their hands touching was by accident or something Regal had done intentionally but either way, she continued on to her desk. She sat down, crossed her legs and watched him drink.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she told him.
“I’m sorry—what was the question?”
“Why are you thinking about marriage?”
He stared at her for a moment, leaving her exposed to the direct heat of his eyes. Did he have to stare at her like that? Like he was looking right through her? Seeing things other people couldn’t see with their naked eyes?
“Regal?”
“Yes?” He smiled.
Mercy!
The man’s smile had her wishing she’d also gotten a bottle of water while she was in the break room.
“Why are you thinking about marriage?” she asked.
Easy. Because I can’t stop thinking about you. “Because I need a lady barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen cooking gravy biscuits, oxtails and chicken wings. You game?”
He watched her eyes narrow and chuckled. “I’m kidding,” he said. “You look like you could slap me right now.”
“I could.”
“With those little hands? I welcome it, baby.”
Felicity shook her head. “I’m not your baby, now are you going to answer my question or what?”
Just then, Felicity heard the doorbell. “Crap! That must be my client and I couldn’t give his file a good read-over because you’re here bothering me. You have to go. Now.”
“Aw…so soon? We were just getting started.”
“Regal, get your water and bounce.”
Regal stood up. “Okay, but just so that you’re aware, I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“Regal…”
“And the day after that. And the day after that. And—”
“Regal, you can’t—”
“Persistence, baby. I don’t stop until I get what I want.” And what I want is you.
She threw a hand up to her forehead. “Okay. Okay! Tomorrow, after work, I’ll meet you somewhere for dinner. You pick the spot. Here’s my business card with my phone number and email address. Now, can you leave?”
He took the card even though he didn’t need it. He had all of her contact information. He knew her work number, cell number, work address, home address, email address, bra size – he made it his business to find out as much as he could about her but some things – the deeper things he could learn only from getting to know her better.
“Thanks,” he said sliding the card in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “I’ll cherish this forever.”
“Cherish it on the way out the door and don’t get it twisted…you’re still not my client. I’m only meeting you after hours so you’ll stop bugging me at work.”
He grinned. “I’m a client. You just don’t know it yet. And make sure you review my questionnaire this time, or I’m going to be really upset with you, young lady.”
“Boy, bye. You’re lucky I’m entertaining this at all.”
“Is that right?” he asked, stepping out into the hallway.
“Yeah, that’s right,” she said. His irresistible hypnotizing cologne had her tipsy. Standing behind his tall, muscular frame had her missing the way he grabbed her a few days ago and kissed her.
“Thanks for the H2O,” he told her.
“You’re welcome, Re—Mr. St. Claire,” she quickly corrected since they were near the waiting room and she could see her next client waiting. She had to stay professional.
“No. Thank you, Ms. James,” Regal said playing along. He winked at her. “I don’t know where I’d be right now if you hadn’t introduced me to the woman of my dreams.”
Felicity chuckled uncomfortably. What the heck was he talking about? “Well, I do what I can.”
“Yes, you do.” Figuring he’d take full advantage of her professionalism, Regal reached to shake her hand. He gnawed on his lips as he did so. When he grasped her hand, he squeezed and could feel the nervous undercurrent flowing through her.
“You can let my hand go now,” she whispered.
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Why would you not want to?”
“Because they’re so soft. What do you use on your skin? Baby oil?”
Felicity pulled her hand away from his grasp and whispered, “Get outta here.”
He chuckled. “See you later.”
“Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. St. Claire,” she said in a normal tone as he continued on toward the exit.
“You as well Ms. B—I mean, Ms. James.”
Felicity tried her best to withhold a smile. Then she looked at the gentleman who’d been waiting, walked over to him and said, “Hello. I’m Felicity James. You must be Mr. Porter.”
“No, ma’am.” The middle-aged, no-mustache-having white man stood up and was only a few inches taller than she was. He was stout, odd-shaped with a square head. “Actually, I should’ve called before I came by but I was so close, I figured I’d just drop in on ya. My name is Donald McConnell of County Investigative Services. I spoke with you on the phone one day last week.”
“Oh. Right,” Felicity said, recognizing his voice and matching it to his face now. “Mr. McConnell, it’s good to meet you in person.”
He tilted his head forward. “Likewise, ma’am.”
“Come on back to my office. I only have a few minutes to spare. I’m expecting a client at any moment.”
“This won’t take long at all…just wanted to put a face with a name and inform you that when you called me last week, I got right on your case. I’ve located your daughter, Ms. James, and she’s right here in Charlotte.”
Chapter 2
Regal went straight to the break room before stepping a foot inside of his office. He needed coffee asap and after he poured a cup, he leaned up against the counter and sipped on it while thinking about his early morning. First, he’d gotten up around four since he was too excited to sleep – excited because he knew he would see Felicity. Then, because he couldn’t sleep, he went to his exercise room and lifted weights. With each pump of iron, he could see her face at the forefront of his thoughts. Those brilliant eyes of hers were enough to make him weak. She always came across as tense, busy and not wanting to be bothered and that wasn’t just the way she acted around him. She was always stressed, but in his opinion, she was too pretty to be so frazzled all the time. She needed to loosen up and have some fun and he was just the man for the job.
He wanted to know certain things about her, like for one, was she involved with anyone? He’d never seen her with a man. Whenever she was invited to any St. Claire family functions, she came solo. How could she not have been snatched up by anyone yet? Did she not want a relationship? Was her job her main focus? Or was she one of those scorned, damaged chicks who wrote off all men because of a jerk they’d encountered.
Ramsey stepped into the break room and saw his brother leaned up against the counter daydreaming, holding his coffee mug a few inches from his mouth. “What’s up, Regal?”
Regal came out of his reverie. “Hey, Ram.”
“What’s got you in deep thought this morning?”
“Nothing,” Regal answered. “I’m enjoying some coffee, hoping it will give me a jumpstart this morning.”
“Long night?”
“Something like that,” Regal answered, thinking about how excited he was last night and how he’d dreamed that he’d gotten a hold of Felicity’s lips again. “What’s got you down here on the ninth floor with us lowly commoners? Don’t tell me you’re fetching your own coffee these days. Judy finally got tired of your slick mouth, huh?”
Ramsey barely smirked when he replied, “Judy’s just fine, and she already brought my coffee for the morning. I came down here to find you specifically. Royal told me he saw you in here staring at the walls, and low and behold here you are—staring at the walls.”
“Ah…te
ll the troublemaker to stay out of my business.” Regal took a sip of coffee.
“You mean troubleshooter,” Royal said as he passed the break room heading for his office.
Regal cracked smile. His brother Royal was the troubleshooter for St. Claire Architects. Too bad he couldn’t use his troubleshooting skills to help him with his current situation. A personal one. One involving a woman.
“What’s up, though? Why were you looking for me?” Regal asked.
“You missed the status meeting this morning. I need to fill you in on some developments. When you’re done daydreaming come on up.”
“Ay, I wasn’t daydreaming,” he said as Ramsey was leaving the room. “Only people in love do that—like you, Royal and Romulus.”
“I’m not denying it,” Ramsey replied back, thinking of all the times he’d sat at his desk and stared at Gianna’s picture while reminiscing about how they’d met. She still made his heart race, and he doubted if she knew that.
Regal refilled his coffee mug, walked to his office and dialed his housekeeper.
“Good morning, Regal,” Primrose answered. “How are you?”
“I’m okay, Rose. How are you doing this morning?”
“I’m well. Thanks for asking.”
“Good. I just wanted to make sure you saw the laundry and the shirts I need dropped off at the cleaners.”
“I did, Sir. The laundry is already in the wash and I’m taking the shirts to the cleaners on my lunch break.”
“Excellent. I left some extra cash on the counter to cover your lunch.”
“That’s so generous of you, Regal. I’ll put it to good use. Is there anything else I should give priority to today?”
“No ma’am. You’ve got it covered, Rose. I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy your day.”
“You as well.”
Regal inhaled more caffeine then stood up. Leaving the cup on his desk, he headed for Ramsey’s office, taking the stairs instead of using the elevator to go up to the tenth floor. He hoped that expending the extra energy would help him get his mind focused on work since he’d had trouble focusing since leaving Felicity’s office this morning.